Farmers Market Tomato and Sausage Pasta Sauce

This is my go-to homemade pasta sauce. I was able to find most of these ingredients at my favorite Farmers Market in SF ( Civic Center on Wednesday mornings ). This recipe is the ultimate celebration of late summer produce; just make sure your tomatoes are nice and ripe!

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 sweet sausages, uncooked
• 2 hot sausages, uncooked – if you prefer less heat, use 4 mild sausages
• 10-12 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 pounds whole ripe tomatoes, peeled*
• 1 cup red wine
• 10+ Castelvetrano or other green olives ( available at Whole Foods and Molly Stone )
• One 6 OZ can organic tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon cumin, freshly ground
• Olive oil, salt and pepper - as needed

To Garnish:

• Pasta of your choice
• Fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• Chiffonade cut basil

Instructions
To skin the tomatoes:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil

2. Meanwhile, combine the same amount of salt, ice and water in a bowl and place beside the stove. Both containers of water should be heavily salted

3. Using a sharp knife, cut around and remove the ‘top’ of the tomato (the spot where the tomato was attached to the vine) so that a small hole remains, then cut a shallow ‘x’ at the base of the tomato.

a. These incisions will make it easier to peel the tomato skin off after the tomato has been blanched

4. Once the water has come to a boil, carefully plunge the prepared tomatoes into the water and allow them to sit for 6-8 seconds.

5. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and transfer them to the ice water

6. Once the tomatoes have cooled, drain them in a colander. The incisions you had made previously should make peeling the tomatoes a very easy task

7. After the tomatoes have been peeled, combine all in a large bowl and carefully squeeze the tomatoes with your hands to create a tomato base for the sauce. Set aside.

For the Sauce

1. Combine onion and 1 tablespoon of salt in a very large pot that’s been drizzled liberally with olive oil

2. Sauté the onions until they become translucent

3. Squeeze the contents of the sausages out of their casings and into the onion mixture. Break apart the sausages into bite size pieces and add the green pepper

4. Cook the meat until it’s slightly colored, keeping in mind that it will continue to cook while the sauce is simmering

5. Add the sliced mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 minutes

6. Add the tomatoes, wine and olives to the pot; stir to combine

7. Add the tomato paste and cumin, stir thoroughly

8. Allow the mixture simmer for at least 30 minutes as to let the flavors meld. Season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste just before serving

9. While the sauce is simmering, put a large pot of water with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and one tablespoon of olive oil over high heat to boil the pasta of your choice

10. When the pasta is cooked al dente, ladle the sauce over the noodles and garnish with Pecorino Romano cheese and basil. Serve.